Help please Im on my last thread

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  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
    Figure out how to make what you like from McD's in a slightly more healthy, homemade way. If you like burgers, make yourself burgers out of lean ground beef or turkey (or even buy premade frozen veggie burgers - the original Boca are really good) and serve them on a whole wheat bun with some lettuce, tomato, pickles and whatever else you like. If you like the chicken sandwiches or wraps, those are easy enough to make on your own too.

    I agree that you may have tried to be too strict with yourself at the beginning - it seems to me that this is the root of failure for a lot of folks, myself included. If you try to cut out everything you like, what's to enjoy? Food shouldn't just be fuel, it's meant to be enjoyed as well. The key in a lot of cases is to find what foods work best for you and then find ways to either control the portions or find substitutes and prepare them in ways that you'll enjoy.

    Like someone else noted, it could be your food choices that make you hungry and leave you wanting. For me, starting the day wtih cereal, milk and a banana was the way I was raised but it doesn't work for me. I'm starving and light headed in about two hours and it usually sets me up for carb cravings for the rest of the day. So now I either eat a homemade breakfast sandwich (2 eggs over medium & low fat pepperjack on a sandwich thin) or oatmeal followed by a protein bar mid morning. In fact, almost all of my snacks and meals have protein in them because I know that's what sticks with me the longest and the less hungry you are, the less likely you're going to give in to cravings.

    Remember that boredom/procrastination is a huge eating trigger too. This has been the hardest hurdle for me on the weekends when I don't feel like doing housework. If this is the case with you at work, instead of turning to food, take a 5 minute break and walk around. Or maybe even consider asking for projects or finding another job that better suits your interest.

    Good luck! You CAN do it!
  • msudaisy28
    msudaisy28 Posts: 267 Member
    I've been there! Making a lifestyle change like this is hard work! Here are some ideas that have worked for me, now and in the past...

    - pre-log your day the best you can. Each weeknight I log my next day as I pack my lunch and snacks for work. If I don't know what dinner will be I log a quick add calories for 500 to dinner as a placeholder just so I have an idea of how many calories I will have available
    - pack more snacks than you will need, and always keep a nutritious snack in your purse in case you get tied up somewhere and are hungry (I keep some pistachios or almonds in an old baby food container)
    - make a game out of your snacks and see how long you can stretch out the time between snacks. For example, I would bring breakfast, lunch and 5 snacks to work, then set out a schedule for the day based on that. If I was eating breakfast at 8, I could eat something every 1.5 hours (i.e. snack at 9:30, snack at 11:00, Lunch at 12:30, Snack at 2:00, Snack at 3:30 and snack at 5 as I was walking out the door). I wasn't allowed to eat anything else until 9:30, then if I was hungry at 9:30, I would eat my first snack. If I wasn't then I would wait until I was hungry to eat it. Then I would readjust my schedule based on when I actually ate something. It gives you something to do when all you can do is think about food. (FYI,Your body will adjust to your new eating patterns over time. I've settled into a pattern now where I typically eat 2 snacks in the afternoon and none in the morning.)
    - Is there something that you can only allow yourself during a workout? I used to listen to audiobooks while on the treadmill, and that was the only time I was allowed to listen to the story. I've also heard of poeple only allowing themselves to watch TV shows if they are working out.
    - I switched my workouts to the morning to give myself the time and energy to complete them.
    - before kids when I had a gym membership I would pack my bag and go straight from work to the gym. If I went home first I never went back out to go to the gym.

    I hope these help - if you want to add me as a freind feel free!
  • Jcox300
    Jcox300 Posts: 62 Member
    Thank you all so much, All your advice is very helpful and it was crazy to see how many people said they understand me. Someone said to relate Mcdonalds with a bad thought. I found a picture online of MCdonalds with a very very overweight man that says Im Luggin it becuase his fat is in a wheelbarrel and hes pushing it. I thought it was funny and so true so i made it my wallpaper on my phone to remind me. I downloaded the MFP app on my phone and plan to start truely truely trying. I was hard on myself in the begining and was very strict I would have yogart and applesauce every day for lunch. Im looking to try and not go on an over dramatic diet but to cut back. I know I can do it. Thank you everybody. I really appreciate all the wisdom and advice. You dont know how much it means to me to have so many people reply with helpful hints.
  • JustPeachy044
    JustPeachy044 Posts: 770 Member
    You can do this!!! I'm glad you found the suggestions helpful.

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